I'm surprised how amicable williams'/frank's statement was. Talking about this being a great opportunity for Toto in the same way as when a midfield driver joins a top team. I though esp. after last years good performances Williams would seriously start to aspire being a championship contender again. Why put yourself down compared to Merc? Maybe it's just because of Toto's ownership but it's still a bit odd.

They bought it last year and sold it again.
Gotta keep people motivated and what could be better than letting them own a part of the company they work for.
If they don't do the job well, they'll own 40% of "nothing".

They bought it last year and sold it again.Gotta keep people motivated and what could be better than letting them own a part of the company they work for.If they don't do the job well, they'll own 40% of "nothing".

Ownership will certainly help to keep Wollf motivated, but the stake he and Lauda have in the team will not buy them leadership skills, ability to maintain or put together a motivated team. We don't know how he will get along with the likes of Costa, Bell, Willis. Will he gain their trust? Will he be liked by the workforce?Wolff has A LOT to prove as a leader, which is something money can't buy.

Ownership will certainly help to keep Wollf motivated, but the stake he and Lauda have in the team will not buy them leadership skills, ability to maintain or put together a motivated team. We don't know how he will get along with the likes of Costa, Bell, Willis. Will he gain their trust? Will he be liked by the workforce?Wolff has A LOT to prove as a leader, which is something money can't buy.

“I’ve been around and there is a great atmosphere here, great spirit just as I had at my previous team,” said Hamilton. “The guys seem hungrier than any group of people I’ve seen before. They seem seriously hungry to win and excited that they have another shot at it this year."

Good for him. He doesn't want to spend most of is days sitting in a room with directors who enjoy smelling each other's farts, but actually play a role in supporting the F1 team. His commercial skills are hopefully top notch so that Merc don't have to call the services of Danny Bahar.

“I can’t really tell [what I am going to do at Mercedes]. I think I have probably the same knowledge that you do from watching them and seeing what has happened. What you can see is you have a leader there who has won multiple titles with Benetton, Ferrari and Brawn and it needs to be properly analysed.

“I haven’t even been a full day in Brackley,” he admitted. “I have to look at it, watch it and then hopefully understand the stuff. Then I can make up my mind but I am not yet there. In the mean time I am involved a lot with the other motorsport activities of Mercedes-Benz. We were in Valencia today and we have tested Robert Kubica in one of our cars so there is a lot to do apart from Formula One.”

So, lets see a list (not entirely sure if correct) they recruited:--Scumi (not a good decision considering the outcome, good for his fans though)-Rosberg (got matched throughout by a 41-43 year old driver)-Brawn (same, should have really been held accountable & fired after this year)-mind-bogling Senior Tech recruits in 2010-11, which led to Mclaren & Newey to smirk in 2011 & say they might as well go home lol, while another said too many chefs spoils the broth at a FIA PC (same)-DDRS (same. really, all that minds came up with one innovation, which directly regressed the cars updates Duh)-Niki Lauda (recent)-Hamilton (recent)-Lotus aero chief (recent)-Toto Wollf (recent)

People Mercedes chose to let go:--Jenson Button- their current World Champion-Norbert Haug- the face of Mercedes in every sense.

Good Job so far I guess.

Lotus aero chief works happy in Lotus. Elliott was only mid-level aerodynamicist in Enstone aero department if you think about him.

Looking at these comments, I'm positive Brawn is going to retire voluntarily soon.;)

Nothing will happen in 2013. Not during the season, unless they mess up like last year. That is possible, but highly unlikely. If this structure they have now works, it is Brawn who keeps it together. If Brawn goes, Costa, Bell, are sure to leave, I am not sure about Willis, but he is ambitious too, IMHO. Some of those are capable in a TP role, especially Bob Bell. And yet, Lauda is pushing for Paddy Lowe, making a mess of it as he usually does, before pre season. So no, I think Wolff should be the person who backs up Brawn, against Lauda. Assuming that is, that Wolff is not Lauda's strawman. Wolff is the one who has invested in the team, why should he piss in his own soup bowl? That said I am afraid. It seems anything can happen at this team.

Orrrrrrrr maybe it's just a case of there being someone with super and proven credentials yet the team is failing so he must be surrounded by 'tards.

In which case it's still his fault since he as the guy in charge, is responsible for bringing the right people to the team and using they skills in a right way. He failed to do so an am sure will need to answer some serious questions. If I was Toto Wolff I would simply fire him, because on every possible level, this team under the reign of Brawn is a failure. Even in the race strategy department.

In which case it's still his fault since he as the guy in charge, is responsible for bringing the right people to the team and using they skills in a right way. He failed to do so an am sure will need to answer some serious questions.

He took over when Honda pulled out. They donwsized to the extent it crippled the team. Merc took over, and tried to run the team without any investment for nearly two seasons. by the time Brawn made them realize that is not going to work, two sesonns have passed, which meant the third was compromised too. All they had was bigois, who, in hindsight sucked big-time from the moment Zander left. They started investing in the team heavily in 2011-12, and the structure Brawn set up is fully functional from 2013, meaning work in 2012 on the W04, not the W03. Signing big heads takes careful consideration, and time. Everyone signed was forced on a gardening leave as is customary. So Brawn was effectively in a windmill fight for 2 seasons with an f1-dumb corporate board. What is it that some people fail to grasp in this whole story?

Exactly. It is not so much what Brawn did than what he not did. That is what is responsible for the performance of the team. And that is what has to be analysed, as Toto Wolff rightfully stated.

And Brawn/the team have not made major changes last year?Why don't you wait to criticize him after you have seen the performance of the W04?

And Wolff knows nothing. He's a rookie. He's got a lot to learn (as he said himself) before he can even think about schooling Brawn.Lauda has a bad track record as an F1 team manager. He can only dream of having Brawn's track record in F1. Enough said.I predict Lauda will bring this team down single-handedly. He will learn (again) that operating like a bull in a china shop will only bring the team further down and that taking a team to the sharp end of the grid consistently is a very difficult thing to achieve.

Lewis is just a driver, irrelevant in the bigger picture. They already had two competitive drivers for the last 3 three years and that's not where they were and are lacking.

I beg to differ. He was signed because of the bigger picture. If they would have wanted "just a driver", they would not have gone after him. Signing LH underlines their ambition. It means they think they will not "lack" where they have the past few seasons. So no, LH is definitely not the second coming, but he is extremely high-profile. It would be destructive for them not to give him competetive hardware and framework to achieve goals set. Again, what is it you fail to grasp in this?

And Brawn/the team have not made major changes last year?Why don't you wait to criticize him after you have seen the performance of the W04?

And Wolff knows nothing. He's a rookie. He's got a lot to learn (as he said himself) before he can even think about schooling Brawn.Lauda has a bad track record as an F1 team manager. He can only dream of having Brawn's track record in F1. Enough said.I predict Lauda will bring this team down single-handedly. He will learn (again) that operating like a bull in a china shop will only bring the team further down and that taking a team to the sharp end of the grid consistently is a very difficult thing to achieve.

Wolff was quite capable at Williams and Lauda already scored some successes for Mercedes in negotiating that brought the team forward quite a bit. The reshuffle is in full swing, and it has to be, as the last three years proved that the Brawn concept did not work. Well, maybe it was Schumacher's fault and Rosberg is just a journeyman driver - then you could blame the record of the last three years on the drivers.